Forget Mad Mario... meet Mad Marko: Stoke maverick on being pals with Balotelli, taking a Bentley from Eto'o (then having it nicked) and going out FIVE times a week under Jose

In an era when the protection of the brand is all, the Austria international is a throwback to the days before Prozone and specialised nutrition. Where the concept of an energy drink without alcohol would have been laughed at. He’s as much of a character as you will find in the game these days.

Trouble? He can’t keep himself out of it. During this last international break he was dismissed for a clash of heads with Johan Elmander towards the end of a friendly with Sweden.

VIDEO: Scroll down to watch Arnautovic and Balotelli mess around during interview

Remember the name: Stoke City frontman Marko Arnautovic has a reputation for getting into trouble

Dismissal: Arnautovic was sent off for Austria after clashing with Sweden striker Johan Elmander on Friday

The rap sheet of Stoke City’s £2m new
boy is lengthy and even he admits: ‘I’m no angel. I did things without
thinking.’ His misdemeanours? The stuff of legend.

For instance, Jose
Mourinho claimed he had the ‘attitude of a child’ during a year
together at Inter Milan. Former England coach Steve McClaren insisted he
was the craziest player he had ever managed while at FC Twente.

But these verdicts only give a snapshot of the trail of devastation that follows the playmaker around.Arnautovic once borrowed a Bentley owned by Samuel Eto’o, only to have it stolen while eating in a restaurant.

He
tore a knee ligament while playing with a dog. He’s insulted policemen
and been suspended from playing for Austria because of his behaviour. He
puts his problems with Mourinho in Milan down to the fact he was going
out five nights every week.

Almost every manager he has ever played
for accepts he can play. But it’s been left to Mark Hughes to nurture
this precocious talent after the forward burnt his bridges in
spectacular fashion at Werder Bremen.

He upset the locals by
labelling the port city ‘a dump.’ He was pulled over for speeding in the
early hours on the day of a game and was involved in a training ground
punch-up with team-mate Sokratis Papastathopoulos.

He caused a public storm during an interview by claiming that his ideal woman was tattooed with silicone-inflated breasts.

Oh, and I almost forgot, he counts Mario Balotelli as one of his best friends.

Faith: Stoke manager Mark Hughes is tasked with getting the best out of the former Bremen attacker

For those who claim modern football is devoid of characters, the Austrian is one who breaks that mould.

Arnautovic
doesn’t want to talk about the past. He has moved to Cheshire with his
young family and, if there’s any madness in his life any more he says it
is to be found on the M6.

He doesn’t want to talk about his past but
he can’t help himself and said: ‘I was young at Inter and did things I
wouldn’t do again. I can’t do that now. I have a wife and child.

‘But I’m seen as a bad boy in Austria. German journalists ring me and ask me to come back because their papers are empty now.

‘I
have done wrong things. Two of us are always spoken about in the press.
David Alaba (Bayern Munich left back) is the angel and the sweet boy.
Me? I’m the s**t one.

‘In Austria, everything is my fault when we
lose. Whatever I do it’s not enough. If I score two, they ask why I
haven’t scored three. When I’m good, they love me like you love your
Queen. When I play bad, I’m the worst.

‘I’m here to show England what I can do.’

Unfair: Arnautovic claims Bayern Munich's David Alaba (left) is treated as the golden boy of Austrian football

It
doesn’t perhaps help Arnautovic’s cause that he befriended Balotelli.
There is a clip on YouTube which shows the pair mucking about during a
post-match interview in the Bernabeu when playing for Mourinho at Inter.
Immature? Yes. Harmless? Yes.

‘People have put me on Mario’s level
and say I do stupid things,’ he adds, ‘they are always searching for
something. If I dropped a water bottle, it’s like I’ve dropped a bomb.
Everything was a big drama.

‘English people didn’t have a good experience with Mario in the same way. I have to say he’s a very good guy.

Double act: Arnautovic befriended Mario Balotelli at Inter and insists the former Man City star is a 'good guy'

‘The thing is with Mario, he acts without thinking. He just does stuff. That’s his problem.

‘When Mario says, “I’ll buy a car today”, 10 minutes later he buys one. He doesn’t think if it’s good or bad. He just does it.

‘He
wants to help people. He is a friend. I speak to him a lot but every
two or three weeks he changes his number. So I’ve lost touch with him
since I came to Stoke.’

Arnautovic can’t escape from the interview that easily, however.

He
knows he is wanted to talk about his controversial past. And the story
about how he was robbed of Samuel Eto’s Bentley is a belter.

‘So I
earned my licence and said to Sam that I want to buy a car,’ said the
Austrian, 'and Sam replied, “Don’t bother, you can have one of mine”.

‘He
gave me a Bentley and I was very happy with that. I was driving into
the city every day and was getting it washed all the time and keeping it
nice.

‘One day I went to the restaurant for 45 minutes. After I’d
finished the car was not there and at first I thought it had been
removed for bad parking. I was shocked, I was crying and throwing up, I
was really scared.

Generous: During their spell at Inter together, Samuel Eto'o allowed Aranautovic to borrow his Bentley, only for the vehicle to be robbed while the Austrian was dining out

‘I called Sam and told him the car had been taken but I have to say he was really nice to me.

‘He
said it wasn’t my fault but I was calling him day and night to say
sorry. I must have called him 100 times. When I went to Bremen I got a
call to say they had found the car.

‘I was worried Eto’o thought I
might have asked somebody to take it for me so that was a big relief.
When I see him at Chelsea this season we will have a laugh about it - I
hope!'

And so to the present.

Surprised: Arnautovic admits the Premier League is an exciting division having expected it to be 'all headball'

‘I’ve played in Serie A, the
Bundesliga, Holland and now the Premier League,’ says Arnautovic, ‘they
are all different. You have to react very fast here but it is exciting.

‘I
was thought it was going to be all “headball” and running but they also
try to play football here and there are technical players.’

The words are spoken to the reporter. And so to the pictures. The photographer asks his subject to unfold his arms.

Arnautovic refuses. He just won’t have it.

He
may want to turn over a new leaf, but you suspect with Marko Arnautovic
in town both Stoke City and the Premier League will find out the real
truth behind his character very quickly.

Just not having it: Arnautovic refused to unfold his arms during Sportsmail's recent photoshoot